cannabisnews.com: Medicinal Marijuana User Won't Face Trial





Medicinal Marijuana User Won't Face Trial
Posted by CN Staff on September 08, 2004 at 23:53:06 PT
By Ginny Merriam of the Missoulian
Source: Missoulian 
The Missoula woman charged in May with possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia because of her medicinal use of marijuana will not be prosecuted if she is "law abiding" for the next nine months.But it's not clear what she'll have to do to be "law abiding" and whether her continued use of marijuana for her chronic illness and pain would send her to court.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Robin Prosser said she will "remain law abiding and shall commit no acts that could result in charges for violations of federal, state or local law." However, that agreement also says, "Defendant's use of treatment recommended by her health care providers for her chronic painful permanent medical condition is not a violation of this subsection."Prosser's case presented authorities with a unique situation that began May 10 after she tried to kill herself with prescription drugs in her Missoula apartment. When her psychologist, Paul Bach, discovered a suicide e-mail from Prosser that morning in his office computer, he went to her apartment. He called police when she didn't answer the door. Inside her apartment, where Prosser was semiconscious, police officers found a small amount of marijuana and pipes for smoking it. She was charged with possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.Prosser has lived nearly 20 years with an immunosuppressive disorder that's related to lupus. It causes bone pain, muscle spasticity, irritable bowel, constant migraines, spinal pain and other symptoms. She is allergic to narcotic prescription drugs. The only thing that has given her relief, she says, is marijuana, which she smokes. But the strain and expense of getting the illegal drug is difficult, and the dry spells are overwhelming. She has lived on Social Security disability for 14 years and has lost nearly everything she owns.Two years ago, Prosser fasted for more than a month in a public plea for the legalization of the use of marijuana for medical purposes.She appeared in court on May 27. She told a reporter that day, "I couldn't get the medicine I needed. So I decided I'd rather die than live with that pain."Prosser did not want to plead guilty because she was afraid of the maximum sentence Judge Don Louden told her she could draw - one year in jail. She had no money to hire an attorney, she said. But Missoula defense attorney John E. Smith volunteered to represent her free.Short of an outright dismissal, Smith said, the deferred prosecution agreement is the best result for Prosser."Trials are stressful," he said. "She doesn't need more stress in her life. She has only so much energy."The agreement is best for everybody, he said."It's a win-win," he said. "The prosecution is not giving up the ability to prosecute the case, and my client's not giving up the right to defend herself."City authorities are vague about what the "use of treatment recommended by her health care providers" means. Assistant City Attorney Judy Wang would not say whether "treatment" includes the medicinal use of marijuana.The agreement is not an attempt to weigh in on the controversial topic of medical marijuana, she said, which is the subject of an initiative that will appear on the Montana ballot in November."Each case needs to be evaluated on its unique facts," Wang said. "That was the best just resolution."It just seemed like a reasonable resolution given the facts and circumstances of the case," she said.Paul Befumo, the campaign spokesman for the Medical Marijuana Policy Project of Montana's effort to get voters to approve Initiative 148 protecting patients, doctors and caregivers from arrest and prosecution, considers the agreement in Prosser's case a victory."They basically have passed I-148, but only for her," he said. "The rest of the people of Montana deserve the same consideration. Š It's definitely a good resolution for Robin."Missoula Police Capt. Marty Ludemann said that the use of marijuana, even if recommended by a health care provider, could not be included as a treatment that's considered law abiding, even if it's recommended by a health care provider."It can't be marijuana," he said. "Montana doesn't recognize medical marijuana. The court can't condone the use of medical marijuana. The judge can't condone the use of illegal drugs for any medical condition."Law enforcement has to abide by the wishes of the Legislature, he said."If it happened tomorrow under the same circumstances, we would arrest her again," he said.That's true, said Smith."The police were doing their job as the Legislature sees the law," he said. "Personally, I feel that people should be able to use this drug medically if they need it, whether it's Marinol or whatever form they need."Bach, who has been Prosser's psychologist for six years, said that "recommend" is too strong a word for his role in her medical use of marijuana. He is not licensed to prescribe drugs. However, he said, he has never tried to dissuade her."The longer I've known her, the more apparent it's been to me that it is of therapeutic value to her," he said.There is significant existing science, he said, to support marijuana's benefit in certain cases. Prosser's suicide attempt was a serious one, without question, he said.Prosser, who asked Smith to talk about the case for her, is in a hard spot because the drug Marinol does not work for her. Marinol contains a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana."The ingestion of marijuana, the use of that substance, is the only way for her to get relief," he said. "She does much better with her pain, and she's much more cogent with the use of marijuana."Source: Missoulian (MT) Author:  Ginny Merriam of the MissoulianPublished: Thursday, September 09, 2004Copyright: 2004 Missoulian Contact: newsdesk missoulian.com Website http://www.missoulian.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Montana Careshttp://montanacares.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmAiling Woman Ticketed After Police Find Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18913.shtmlPot To The Peoplehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18810.shtmlMedical Marijuana Initiative Clears Early Hurdle http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18706.shtml
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on September 09, 2004 at 15:05:07 PT
They have made themselves unbelievable
and we might need to believe something they say sometime. Trust worthy government? That's a concept.
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Comment #13 posted by Shishaldin on September 09, 2004 at 14:57:18 PT
BTW, Mr. Ridge had something to say today
From http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1152&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20040909%2F1704822560.htm&sc=1152"Ridge also extended - from his recent statements - the amount of time the United States should be on heightened guard against a possible al-Qaida attack designed to disrupt the democratic process - from the Nov. 2 Election Day to the presidential inauguration scheduled for Jan. 20.He said ``a couple different sources'' - believed to be sharing credible information - have talked about this threat to the democratic process.``You can translate that into anytime between now and the election, now and the inaugural - or any time we conduct business as a democratic society,'' he said. ``Most people think in terms of either the election or the inaugural.''``We don't really focus so much on the date,'' he added. ``Their intention is well known.'' Translated: "Aaaaaaaah! They're coming! Aaaaaaah! But in a non-specific, indeterminate way."
 Peace and Strength (we're gonna need both)Shishaldin
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on September 09, 2004 at 11:52:50 PT
"strip the bark off of white willow trees"
Careful, Kap. You'll have "White Willow Tree Task Forces" blossoming across the nation. What I want to know is...where is the "Poison Ivy Taskforce" and the "Roach and Termite Task Force" and the "Rodent Controll Task Force"...and maybe more money should be spent on "Mosquito Taskforces" than on "Marijuana Eradication Task Forces". Common sense looks so simple...but apparently, it's not.Oh yeah, considering the problems so many young parents face with their young school age children on a rather regular basis in the last few years, some of the marijuana eradication money would be better spent on "head lice eradication".
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 09, 2004 at 11:51:57 PT
Shishaldin
That was funny and so very true! The terrorists are coming! Ah! They sure are!
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Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on September 09, 2004 at 11:20:23 PT:
Many thanks, Shishaldin!
I haven't been to Fiore's site in weeks, and missed that one. It had me rolling!"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" (Snicker) How infantile. How typical of this Adminsitration. Future historians will have a field day with this period of history...
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Comment #9 posted by Shishaldin on September 09, 2004 at 10:50:09 PT
Minister of Fear
goneposthole: "Oh my God, the terrorists are coming, the terrorists are coming. Run for your lives. Duck and cover. Wrap your house with plastic and duct tape. Hurry, before it's too late." Reminded me of a great animation by Mark Fiore:
http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/fiore/2004/07/07_201.html
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Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on September 09, 2004 at 10:12:56 PT
thousand bucks a month
Somebody is making out like a bandit and it ain't your local grower. The pharmaceutical companies would be more recognizable if they were wearing masks and brandishing a 9 mm automatic. They won't need one though, all you have to do is take what they have to offer as 'medicine' and you won't be around for so very long anyway.'We are living in the future. I'll tell you how I know. I read it in the papers fifteen years ago.' - John PrineIn Grand Prairie, Alberta, carpenters are making 55 dollars per hour Canadian. That equates to about 42 dollars per hour USD. How many carpenters in the continental US are making that kind of money? Where's the money? Nobody knows. Ain't that somethin'?America is getting poorer by the nanosecond. We've been snookered by weasels. We're racked by terror. Oh my God, the terrorists are coming, the terrorists are coming. Run for your lives. Duck and cover. Wrap your house with plastic and duct tape. Hurry, before it's too late. Reefer madness has been replaced by terror madness.Have a nice day.  I'll take cannabis any day of the week over some chemically derived concoction.
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Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on September 09, 2004 at 09:31:30 PT
Allowable
It's allowable to drive on prescrip. amphetamine.It's allowable to drive on prescrip. prozac, zoloft, any number of prescrips.Yes, on Marinol, the producer's info on Marinol says care should be excercised when operating an auto.I also, a million miles on the real thing. Cross country, and in Europe.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 09, 2004 at 09:09:55 PT
Truth
The only Doctor we have that my husband still goes to other then the VA lost his license because of drugs somehow and he can't even write a script for anything that is a controlled substance. He's a nice man and we've know him for over 20 years. The drug war hurts everyone.
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Comment #5 posted by Truth on September 09, 2004 at 08:17:13 PT
one good thing
One good thing about Marinol. It is allowable for people to drive on it. If our gov'ment lets folks drive on Marinol it shows that they know THC doesn't impare one's driving abilities. With over a million miles accident free I can attest for this.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 09, 2004 at 08:12:49 PT
Help Me Out Here
Maybe I live in a different world then other people. I am always shocked at the price of SUVs and homes. I am shocked at even thinking about a $1000 a month prescription bill. Am I living in years gone by and do people have a lot of money to pay that kind of price or am I just really poor? 
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Comment #3 posted by dididadadidit on September 09, 2004 at 08:02:28 PT
Right On, Kapt'n
“It is clear the intent is to once again subject the consumer to overpriced goods of dubious quality to insure continued profits for Big Pharma at the expense of both wallet and health.”How right the Kapt’n is on that. Drugstore.com (a decent low priced web pharmacy) shows a month supply of Marinol 10mg (60 capsules at 2 a day) to cost $1002.81 for a 20mg a day dosage.On the other hand, for a bump of $20 a month on the electric bill, a medical user could grow an ounce a month of the natural product. Rounding off, say 30 grams a month, or one gram a day. If at the low 5% THC level, 50mg a day, wherein 40% efficiency in the smoking process would get the same 20mg a day dosage.The cost comparison is 50 times as much to funnel more price supported money into big pharma as compared to doing for oneself, and that for a less effective product.Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!Cheers?
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on September 09, 2004 at 04:27:54 PT:
To paraphrase Marie Antoinette:
The attitude of the US Guv'mint seems to be "Let them eat Marinol."That's the opinion (and like a certain portion of everyone's anatomy, it stinks) of ignorant LEO's (an redundancy if ever there was one). Yet it is quite clear from past experience that Ms. Prosser derives no benefit from the synthetic crap; she requires The Real Deal.They oh-so-piously prey upon the sick and dying, and then turn to the public as if butter won't melt in their mouths and proclaim themselves as being concerned for their health by pushing (yes, I said 'pushing', as in dealers do) molecularly twisted garbage when the natural product is superior.This is like saying you can't strip the bark off of white willow trees, boil it, and drink the result to achieve the same effects as taking an aspirin. The pill contains the same compound, only more concentrated. And thus more dangerous to the customer.It is clear the intent is to once again subject the consumer to overpriced goods of dubious quality to insure continued profits for Big Pharma at the expense of both wallet and health...and the (ahem!) 'Justice' system is an accomplice to this fraud. For shame! Shame!
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on September 09, 2004 at 04:12:25 PT
Gotta slip this in.
US: LTE: Border BusinessBORDER BUSINESS Your article about smuggling marijuana from Canada into the U.S. [Aug. 23] did not fairly describe how diligently Canada addresses the problems of illicit drugs. We take the issue of drug trafficking in both directions across our shared border very seriously. The cooperation between our governments and law-enforcement agencies is a model for the international community. In recent months, binational law-enforcement teams have successfully dismantled numerous criminal drug networks. The increase in marijuana seizures reflects greater law enforcement along the border. Still, only 2% of the total marijuana that the U.S. seizes at all its borders is produced in Canada, which has the same objectives as the U.S.: to reduce the supply and consumption of illicit drugs and the harm they cause society. Bernard Etzinger, Spokesperson Canadian Embassy Washington http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1273/a09.html?397Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1163/a13.html
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